I'll Shoulder It!
Hall of Law Enforcement.
Upstairs in the rear hall.
Shen Xintang stood motionless by the window.
Following her gaze, one could see that quite a few Three Stars Pavilion students had already taken their seats in the Hall of Law Enforcement.
The fan-shaped seating area was filled with the most gifted youths under thirteen from all across Great Cang. Wherever one looked, there were dragons and phoenixes among people, with profound cultivation and elegant bearing.
They sat upright and proper, speaking and laughing only in quiet voices, without any loud commotion.
"Xiao Tang."
Someone suddenly called from behind her.
Shen Xintang withdrew her gaze and turned around.
An elegant, charming woman in a white dress stood in the doorway of the rear hall, smiling at her.
"Xiao Qian."
Shen Xintang quietly spoke her name.
"Getting ready?"
Xiao Qian stepped forward with a graceful gait, a smile never leaving her face.
"There's not much to prepare. We'll begin once everyone's here."
Shen Xintang seemed expressionless, and her tone was mild.
"Time passes so quickly." Xiao Qian also came to the window and looked at the Divine Strategy Manor students in the front hall. "More than twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. The days when we studied at Divine Strategy Manor feel like yesterday..."
Shen Xintang said nothing.
Xiao Qian, however, seemed accustomed to her silence. Leaning against the window, she continued self-deprecatingly, "Remember that demon bone test? You had medium compatibility, while mine was zero. And now you've made a name for yourself at the Demon-Slaying Headquarters, while I can only be a minor Law Enforcement Hall disciplinarian at Divine Strategy Manor. I really envy you."
Ignoring her remarks, Shen Xintang said mildly, "Are you here to maintain order during the lesson on Divine Strategy Manor's behalf today?"
"Yes." Xiao Qian nodded, then smiled casually. "I volunteered to come. My son is taking the demon bone test today too, after all. At such an important moment, of course I have to be with him as his mother."
As she spoke, a young boy dressed in white brocade appeared outside the door.
The boy had bright eyes and fine white teeth. One look was enough to tell he was a child his parents had carefully sculpted.
"Xuanxing, come and greet your Auntie Xiao Tang."
Xiao Qian beckoned to the boy in white, her gaze doting.
"Hello, Auntie Xiao Tang."
Xiao Xuanxing entered and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Mm."
Shen Xintang glanced at the clean-cut, sunny boy and nodded.
Xiao Qian smiled at Xiao Xuanxing, her eyes seeming to brim with honey.
She said to Shen Xintang, "My son did quite well in the Demon-Slaying Headquarters' recent demon-hunting training. Everyone says he's bound to be compatible with a demon bone and become a demon-forbidding master. Perhaps he'll be as outstanding as you someday?"
"I'm nothing special. Xiao Xuanxing should set his father as his goal. After all, his father is the Fourth Division Saint of the Demon-Slaying Headquarters," Shen Xintang said mildly.
Xiao Qian covered her mouth and giggled. "Speaking of his father... I was just thinking, Xiao Tang, having a good man to rely on really is better than anything else for a woman. Don't you agree? His father always says that no matter how high a woman's martial cultivation is, it can't compare to the satisfaction of watching her son grow up. And you aren't young anymore either, Xiao Tang."
"You're right."
After saying that, Shen Xintang glanced out the window. "Everyone's here. I have to start the lesson."
"Mm-hmm, then I won't keep you, Xiao Tang." Xiao Qian smiled sweetly. "When the lesson's over, let's go have a drink together at the Cloud-Watching Tower, sister!"
As she spoke, she led her son Xiao Xuanxing out through the doorway.
The instant she stepped out-
A small black-and-red flag slipped from Xiao Qian's sleeve.
The little flag silently took root in the ground.
Demonic Qi welled up on the flag.
Inside the Hall of Law Enforcement.
Qi Lin had yet to see Empress Huangxi, so he sat in the back with Tang Biao.
"There are actually so many talents like Xiao Ling'er, who reached Stream Formation, the Third Level of the Profound Sea, before turning thirteen."
Qi Lin looked around.
"The Xiao Clan is here."
Tang Biao suddenly alerted him.
Qi Lin looked back.
A large group of young men and women entered in an orderly fashion, dressed in fine brocade, their True Essence profound, their faces cold and stern, startling thunder in their eyes.
There were a full thirty-five of them!
Though these Xiao clansmen were all under fourteen, their expressions and bearing were cold and mature.
Every one of them gave the impression of having fought a hundred battles!
Judging by their eyes, countless souls had surely perished at their hands.
The thirty-five Xiao Clan geniuses took their seats in an orderly fashion.
Straight-backed and sharp-edged, they carried killing intent with them, entering like drawn swords pressed against the other students' throats. The atmosphere in the Hall of Law Enforcement turned cold at once.
"The Xiao Clan's generation under thirteen really has produced an eruption of talent." Tang Biao gritted his teeth.
Listening to him, Qi Lin was puzzled. They clearly want nothing more than to skin me and pull out my tendons, so why are they coldly ignoring me?
Something was wrong!
Qi Lin glanced out the window. The rain was growing heavier, and muffled thunder rumbled.
Just then, Tang Biao suddenly said, "There are seven martial instructors and three disciplinarians maintaining order at the Hall of Law Enforcement today. They're all Xiao Clan elders."
Qi Lin's eyes turned cold as he looked around.
Sure enough, he found similarities in the bearing and bloodlines of the ten Divine Strategy Manor elders keeping watch.
The ten Xiao Clan experts bore down on the hall from all sides like ten colossal beasts of flesh and blood!
Every one of them was a top expert and a renowned martial arts instructor at Divine Strategy Manor.
Their reputations far surpassed Master Fu's.
"Why arrange it this way?" Qi Lin asked.
"Xiao Ming, the son of the Xiao Clan's Blood Ancestor, is the master of Divine Strategy Manor's Two Moons Pavilion, one of its three pavilion masters." Tang Biao sounded somewhat helpless. "Nearly half the people who pass each demon bone test are Xiao clansmen. These seven martial instructors and three disciplinarians probably all have children here who are about to be tested, so they applied to come and watch."
With that, he patted Qi Lin on the shoulder and said, "So it's fine! You don't need to be afraid. They wouldn't go to such lengths just to target you... Besides, this is the Hall of Law Enforcement at Divine Strategy Manor. With everyone watching and the younger generation of every clan present, who would dare run wild here?"
"I see." Qi Lin paused, then asked, "The Blood Ancestor, Pavilion Master Xiao Ming, and Xiao Chiyan are grandfather, father, and son?"
"That's right."
Tang Biao nodded.
"Phew."
Qi Lin let out a small breath.
Although the ten Xiao Clan elders and thirty-five Xiao Clan geniuses weren't paying attention to him... that was only on the surface!
Qi Lin could still feel them looking at him with other eyes, as though he were already dead.
Perhaps those other eyes belonged to their souls.
Their eyes weren't looking, but their souls had Qi Lin fixed in their sights!
Grandpa, you pushed your grandson into this Asura field. I wonder whether the secret expert you arranged for me is strong enough.
Qi Lin gritted his teeth.
Forget it. The pressure on Mystic City must be even greater. I'll shoulder what I can.
At that thought, though killing intent bore down on him, Qi Lin's breathing remained steady.
The next moment, that killing intent abruptly vanished.
"Qi Lin, come sit beside me."
Hearing the voice, youthful, clear, and pleasant, yet also dignified and cold, Qi Lin's ears twitched slightly.
He raised his head!
At the very front of the seating area, Empress Huangxi, dressed in a fiery red imperial robe, was looking at him with lively eyes in which flames burned.